Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday hit out at Congress leader Kamal Nath for making “indecent remarks” against a woman Minister at a public meeting by pointing out he had no regrets.
Stating the remarks were made against the Dalit Minister born in a poor family, Mr. Chouhan told reporters, “Shamelessly, he is trying to justify them. I am upset about it. Whether he atones for it or not, I will atone for it and observe a two-hour silence with the resolve that respect for mothers, sisters and daughters will be kept in Madhya Pradesh and we will work for their welfare dedicatedly.”
At a public meeting in Dabra in Gwalior district on Sunday to canvass for Congressman Suresh Kumar Raje, Mr. Nath said, “Our candidate is of simple nature. He is not like her. What is her name?” When the gathering named Imarti Devi, the former Chief Minister continued: “Why should I take her name? You know her better than I do. You should have warned me before what item she is.”
Appeal to Sonia Gandhi
“In Madhya Pradesh, we talk about women empowerment,” Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi, a supporter of Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia who switched over from the Congress in March, told reporters on Sunday night. “Today, he (Mr. Nath) has abused all Lakshmis of Madhya Pradesh. I appeal to Sonia Gandhi to remove him from the party.”
Meanwhile, the BJP has appealed to the State Chief Electoral Officer to act against Mr. Nath for his remarks which reportedly violated the Model Code of Conduct as well as insulted women and Scheduled Castes.
Apologise publicly: Mayawati
Calling upon the Congress to apologise publicly, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati wrote on Twitter, “In order to teach the Congress a lesson for this and stop the disrespect of women, I appeal especially to those belonging to Dalit communities to vote for the BSP in the 28 Assembly seats.”
False complaints: Cong.
Claiming the video clip of Mr. Nath’s remark, which had gone viral on the social media, was pulled out of context, State Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja said, “Mr. Nath didn’t mention anyone’s name. And anyway, ‘item’ can mean different things. The BJP is only filing false complaints before the Election Commission, and trying to defame their own woman leader.”
